European Court of Auditors flags inefficiencies in EU wildfire spending

By&nbspAlice Tidey&nbsp&&nbspEleonora Vasques

Published on 11/06/2025 - 17:01 GMT+2

A deficiency of updated representation information is making nan conflict against wildfires successful Europe inefficient, nan European Court of Auditors (ECA) said successful a study connected Wednesday.

The study analyses really immoderate personnel states usage EU costs to forestall wildfires. While it acknowledges important investments successful prevention, nan ECA notes that nan information utilized are outdated and location is small monitoring of nan existent effect of nan spending.

The study reviewed projects funded since 2014 done nan European Structural and Investment Funds and nan Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) successful Greece, Spain, Poland, and Portugal.

Auditors concluded that projects selected to person EU costs do not ever target areas wherever nan effect will beryllium nan greatest.

For instance, it was recovered that successful Greece nan database of areas prone to wood fires is much than 45 years old, while a partially flooded area successful Portugal was prioritised for wood fires because nan hazard representation was outdated and didn't see a reservoir built respective years earlier. 

"On a affirmative note, much EU money is being spent connected prevention of fires. However, nan measurement EU-funded projects are selected intends nan money doesn’t ever spell wherever it could make nan biggest difference. Little is known astir nan results of these funded projects, and, erstwhile nan task ends, it's unclear whether nan activities will beryllium continued," Nikolaos Milionis, nan ECA personnel responsible for nan audit, said during a property conference.

In immoderate Spanish regions, meanwhile, nan fund was shared arsenic betwixt each provinces, sloppy of risks and needs.

The 3 countries, on pinch France, are traditionally among nan worst-hit EU personnel states erstwhile it comes to wildfires. 

Forest fires person intensified successful caller years pinch an mean of much than 5,200 quadrate kilometres going up successful flames yearly complete nan past 4 years crossed nan 27-country bloc. 

Member states person progressively focused their effort connected preventive measures. In Portugal, for instance, nan percent spent connected prevention roseate from 20% successful 2017 to 61% successful 2022, according to nan ECA.

Auditors were nevertheless incapable to tally up nan precise magnitude of EU costs that were spent by personnel states connected wood fires owed successful portion to governments not being required to differentiate betwixt different types of earthy disasters erstwhile reporting to nan European Commission connected nan amounts spent. 

As such, nan existent effect of EU costs successful tackling wood fires is unknown, auditors say.

They called connected nan EU executive to beforehand bully practices for task action including done nan usage of up-to-date consequence maps,  geographical sum criterion and a risk-based criteria.

They besides urged nan Commission to make usage of nan accusation disposable astatine EU level done nan European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), which tracks burnt areas and fires connected a play ground crossed nan bloc, among different data. 

The level shows for lawsuit that much than 168,000 hectares person been reduced to cinders arsenic of 10 June crossed nan EU - astir triple nan magnitude burnt by that day connected mean complete nan 2006-2024 play - successful immoderate 911 fires, a number besides up by 2.5 times. 

The ECA's study did not reappraisal costs provided done nan consequence usability aliases nan EU Civil Protection Mechanism, which will beryllium nan taxable of a early audit.

The Commission has for lawsuit financed nan acquisition of 12 amphibious firefighting planes, which are group to commencement coming online successful 2027,  and is besides shouldering nan costs of pre-positioning firefighters successful high-risk areas.